a. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to a baby bottle that is directed to accomplish a plurality of preferred goals simultaneously. Specifically, the present invention baby bottle is directed to: elimination or very significant reduction of air in the containment area of the milk or other liquid (formula, milk substitute, juice, etc.) to very significantly reduce gas-creating air during feeding; simulation of real woman breast-nipple experience by providing a unique nipple extending feature during sucking; elimination of a milk bag or pouch; and the accomplishment of the foregoing with minimal, user friendly components. Preferred embodiments also provide the following additional benefits: (1) 100% air free to help prevent gas and gas associated effects from air ingestion; (2) allows user to expel air by pushing the piston from the bottom up; (3) helps retard milk oxidation to retain nutrients that are lost when milk comes in contact with air; (4) a nipple that is designed to mimic mother's breast (nipple stretches to double length during sucking to train baby proper latch and aids to stop mom's sore nipple); (5) leak-proof orifices dispense milk only upon suction to allow baby to control milk flow rate; (6) stops baby's backwash to keep milk fresher longer and healthier; (7) works on suction as opposed to gravity, so infants can feed in any angle to better support development of self-feeding and faster, more successful weaning. Further, there are included herein unique component features and materials of construction that create leak proof connections and functionality of the present invention devices.
b. Description of Related Art
The following patents are representative of the field pertaining to the present invention:
U.S. Pat. No. 7,810,661 B2 to Murphy describes a baby-bottle apparatus for holding dry feeding formula separate from water in the bottle prior to in-situ mixing at feeding time. It combines a bottle, open and threaded at both ends, a powder chamber with a sealable, removable lid, and a piston-like pusher for releasing the lid and mixing the powder and water.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,871,751 B2 to Kerns et al. discloses a baby bottle nipple, comprising a fastener including a sealing surface adapted to be fastened on a baby bottle, and a wall adapted to be contacted with a baby's mouth, the wall having at least one opening to allow milk to pass through, the wall including a nipple portion with the opening being provided in the nipple portion, wherein the wall is comprised of polyisoprene rubber made with a neodymium catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,996 to Sullivan describes a nursing bottle assembly of the type in which a collapsible liquid sack having an open end and a closed end and is contained in a protective tube open at both ends that is provided with a plunger for expelling air from a collapsing liquid containing sack. The open top end of the sack is clamped by a nipple-mounting cap to one end of the tube. The hollow cylindrical plunger can be inserted into the open end of the protective outer tube opposite its nipple-carrying end. Any time liquid is being or has been withdrawn from the sack, the plunger may be manipulated by manual pressure to compress the sack toward the nipple end of the tube to reduce the volumetric capacity of the sack between its closed end and the nipple to prevent any air from accumulating in the sack space vacated by the removed liquid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,861 to Welten describes a nursing bottle consisting of a cylindrical tube of transparent material that has slightly enlarged end portions on which a suction nipple is secured at one enlarged end by means of a threaded cap and a one-way valve is secured by means of a similar cap at the other end. A slidable piston is designed and arranged inside the tube so as to move toward the nipple end of the bottle as the liquid in the bottle decreases.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,120 to K. Undi describes a device for dispensing fluids, comprising: a tube having a hollow body of deformable, dimensionally stable material, the tube having an outlet at its top end for the fluid dispensed and being closed at its lower end, the lower end being provided with an inlet for admitting air into the tube; and a plunger positioned within the tube beneath the fluid to be dispensed, the plunger having an annular top portion in close slidable sealing engagement with the inner wall of the tube and being provided with a resiliently flexible, flared, depending annular skirt having a peripheral dimension of the hollow body of the tube, the skirt being normally resiliently urged against the inner surface of the hollow body so as to make close sealing slidable fit within the hollow body of the tube, compression of the lower end of the tube beneath the plunger compressing the air confined within the tube so as to further urge the depending flexible skirt against the inner surface of the hollow body and to maintain intimate sealing engagement therewith while advancing the plunger upwardly of the tube and dispensing the fluid in the tube through the outlet.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,162,318 to C. R. Woodbury Jr. describes piston means having leading and trailing transverse elements spaced apart axially, each having a peripheral portion generally conical in shape and inclined in trailing direction, the peripheral portions being substantially equal in diameter and constituting the greatest diameter of the piston means.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,093,256 to C. R. Woodbury Jr. describes a baby food feeder of the character disclosed comprising a tubular body member having a uniformly cylindrical inner surface extending its full length with full diameter opening at both ends, the body member being adapted for containing a quantity of flowable food, a mouthpiece having an aperture therein detachably mounted on one end of the body member and forming an air seal therewith, the opposite end of the body member defining substantially the corresponding end of the device, and performed piston means in the body member insertable through the opposite end thereof and movable in leading direction in the body member toward food therein, the piston means including a pair of axially spaced transverse elements a leading one of which faces the food and engages the inner surface of the body member, the leading element including a central substantially planar main portion and a conical peripheral portion flexible relative to the central portion and inclined in trailing direction relative to the central portion, the leading element having a possible diameter greater than the body member due to the inclination of the peripheral portion and tendency to spreading toward planar position by friction between itself and the body member in movement thereof in trailing direction, thereby enabling movement of the piston means more easily in leading direction than in trailing direction, the trailing one of the elements having a portion substantially planar in form and a peripheral portion at least as far in trailing direction as the planar portion, the trailing element also at least closely approaching the inner surface of the body member in diameter and sufficiently spaced from the leading element as to be operative for maintaining the piston means in co-axial alignment with the body member in all positions along the body member, the position means being contained in axial direction between the respective front and rear surfaces of the leading and trailing elements, the piston means further being free of mechanical connection with all other parts of the feeder including the body member and movable without restriction, by other than food in the body member and contract friction with the body member, throughout the full length of the body member and thus movable substantially completely to the end of the device opposite the mouthpiece, the opposite end of the body member being freely vented to atmosphere.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,898,007 to B. F. Gassaway describes a dispensing device for viscous liquid materials comprising an elongated container of uniform cross-section throughout a substantial portion of its length having flexible and resilient side walls along its longitudinal dimension, a floating stiff plunger element free to traverse the longitudinal dimension of the container, the plunger element dividing the interior of the container into two compartments, each of the compartments being unobstructed across its entire transverse dimension, one adjacent each end of the container and each substantially sealed from the other, a valve controlled air inlet at one end of the container for introducing air into the compartment adjacent the one end, and a liquid dispensing spout at the other end of the container for discharging liquid from the other compartment, the liquid dispensing spout having an aperture extending therethrough communicating at its inner end with the other compartment and a valve structure having flexible and elastic wall elements for closing the aperture by constriction of a portion of the aperture, the valve structure accommodating unidirectional flow if liquid from the interior of the other compartment to the atmosphere, the aperture being the only passage leading from the interior of the other compartment to the atmosphere.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,208,360 to F. M. Duerme describes a nursing bottle comprising a unitary one-piece shell open at both ends, in combination with a collapsible pouch having a restricted neck portion and arranged to be inserted in the interior of the shell, and having its open end arranged to be stretched over one end of the shell to close the same and retain the body of the pouch within the shell, and a nursing nipple adapted to be stretched over the other end of the shell, all constructed and arranged to cause an even discharge flow of liquid in drops from the shell when the nipple is compressed and the shell inverted.
Notwithstanding the prior art, the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby.